


On the Importance of Names

by HawthorneWhisperer



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Accidental Pregnancy, F/M, Ficlet, One Night Stands, Surprise Baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-14 08:52:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5737378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HawthorneWhisperer/pseuds/HawthorneWhisperer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was just supposed to be a one night stand.  Except it wasn't.</p><p>(Clarke has a baby after a no-names-involved one night stand.  Based on a tumblr prompt that spiraled COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally published as Chapter 30 in The Dropship. I moved it over here because I feel like it deserves to be its own little series.

“New Antiquities hire starts today,” Monroe said from Clarke’s doorway. **  
**

“Haven’t met him yet,” Clarke said absently, digging through her bag.  “What’s he like?”

“He’s gonna be great for fundraising.  Like, I’d put his face on a goddamn billboard if they’d let me, because believe me, he’s going to make convincing old ladies to part with their money so much easier.  I think I’m going to tell him that his presence is required at all fundraising events, so do me a favor and don’t mention that it’s not, okay?”

Clarke chuckled.  “Deal.”

“And what’s with the sweater today?”  Monroe took a loud slurp of her coffee.  “It’s like, eighty degrees outside.”

“Jules puked on me as I was putting her in her carseat and I didn’t have time to change, but I did have this hanging by the door. The fascinating life of a single mother, summed up in one ugly cardigan.  Where did we hire this guy from, again?”

Monroe shrugged.  “Tiny archeological museum in Italy; I forget the name.  He’s American though.  And hot enough to make me question my sexuality, did I mention that yet?”

“You may have,” Clarke said with a grin.  “Think you can swing me an introduction?”

“You’re in luck— he’s coming down the hall now,” Monroe said, arching her neck to peek out of Clarke’s door.  “Want me to wave him down?”

“What the hell, we can see if he happens to be into single moms with one year olds with digestive issues.”

“Bellamy!” Monroe called. “Have you met Clarke yet?”

“Can’t say that I have,” a deep voice answered.  “Modern Art, right?”

“That’s her!  She’s right in here,” Monroe said, waving him in.

He walked through the door and drew up short just as Clarke’s heart completely stopped beating.

 _Him_.

She hadn’t seen him in years— well, twenty one months, to be exact— and never, ever thought she would see him again.  She hadn’t even known his name, because, as she’d told him over their second whiskey-and-coke, _names are for people who are planning on seeing each other again._  He was leaving the next day to take a job overseas and she was just plain angry— angry at Finn for dying, angry at Lexa for leaving her, angry at her father for getting cancer and angry with her mother for not being able to save him— so they decided to call it what it was: a one-night stand.  She had managed to learn a little bit about him before they left the bar for his hotel near the airport, like that he loved Ancient Roman art almost as much as she loved fauvism and that he had a little sister he’d practically raised but most other things about him (including again, _his actual name_ ) had remained a mystery.

He was gone by the time she woke up the next morning, leaving her nothing but a note ( _Room is paid for and room service should be bringing you some waffles at 10.  Thanks for a great last night in the States.  –B_ ) and the pleasantly aching muscles of someone who had been well and truly fucked.

Except, of course, for the other thing he left her.  

Thanks to Julia, Clarke would never be able to forget the face of her one night stand, because she saw it every day in Julia’s freckles, the dimple in her chin, and her dark, unruly hair.  Clarke had tried to find him once she’d decided to keep the pregnancy— she really, really had— but “A guy whose first or last name starts with B who has a sister and now lives somewhere in Italy” wasn’t enough information to go on, so Clarke had done it on her own, giving her daughter a name reminiscent of Ancient Rome in honor of the father she would never know.

Monroe watched Clarke stare at Bellamy and vice versa while Clarke’s face drained of it’s color.  “Do you guys know each other?”

Bellamy recovered first (well obviously he did; he didn’t have _their daughter’s face_ staring up at him from his desk the way Clarke did just then) and cleared his throat.  “We, ah, met.  Once.  I don’t think I ever caught her name, though, so I didn’t realize we had.”

Monroe raised her eyebrows curiously at Clarke, but Clarke gave a tiny shake of her head.  “Okay, well, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.  Or reacquainted, as it were,” Monroe said, closing the door behind her.

Bellamy smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.  “Uh, hey.  Sorry about that.  I just, I—” he looked over his shoulder to make sure the door was closed.  “I, ah, never expected to see you again, to be honest.”

“Me either,” Clarke managed.  “But—”

“Shit, this is awkward since we work together,” he rambled on.   “But you should know I always regretted not getting your name, and I know it’s been a couple years and you’re probably married or something now so this isn’t me trying to hit on you, but just, you know, so you know.  I wish we’d done things differently.”

“Me too,” Clarke forced out.  She balled her hands into fists and looked at the photo of Julia for strength.  “But there’s something you should know.”


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because leaving it at just one chapter would be beyond cruel, wouldn't it?

A knock sounded on the door at two minutes to eleven on Saturday morning, startling Clarke even though she was the one who suggested the day and time.

 

_Clarke had been saved from ruining Bellamy’s first day by Monroe sticking her head back in.  “Sorry to interrupt, but the boss wants us all in the conference room to introduce Bellamy,” she announced.  Clarke sat in a daze through the meeting as Indra listed Bellamy’s many accomplishments, and she didn’t hear a thing when he introduced himself and started going over his plans for the Antiquities wing.  She just kept staring at him, seeing little tiny glimpses of her daughter in the way he moved, the way he smiled._

 

_She must have gotten out of her desk to go to his office two dozen times that day, but every time she sat back down.  What was she going to say?  Hey, by the way, you’ve got a daughter if you ever want to meet her?  Clarke had given up on finding him by the time Julia was born, but now he was here, in the same building.  She didn’t even really know what he was like— she knew that they had chemistry, and she knew he was a decent enough guy (the room service waffles were a nice touch) but those things did not add up to the ability to be a father.  She had to tell him, though.  That much she was sure of._

 

_She finally cornered him as he left the building.  “Good first day?” she said brightly, even though her hands were shaking from adrenaline._

 

_“So far, yeah.  Everyone seems really nice,” he said, shifting his jacket to drape over his other arm.  “About—” he looked around the parking lot and started over.  “Would you want to get coffee?  And, ah, catch up? Wasn’t there something you wanted to talk to me about?”_

 

_“There was, but I can’t,” Clarke admitted.  She glanced around too, making sure they were alone.  “I have to go because— well, I have to go pick up my daughter.”_

 

_“You have a kid?”_

 

_“I did, and that’s, um, sort of what I needed to tell you.”_

 

_“You needed to tell me you have a daughter?” Bellamy said, furrowing his brow.  She could practically see the gears in his head turning.  “Why did you…”  His eyes got big, and Clarke had to take a deep breath.  “She’s not— that can’t—” he stuttered, the blood draining from his face._

 

_Clarke pulled out her phone and called up a photo she’d taken of Julia the day before, holding tightly to a table leg with her chubby fists in her teddy bear onesie.  “Her name is Julia, and she turns one next month.  She’s— she’s yours.  I’m sure of it.”_

 

He’d taken it pretty well, all things considered, and they had arranged for him to come over on Saturday to meet Julia.  There had been an undercurrent of anger in his reaction, and sadness (and a heaping amount of bewilderment), but Clarke couldn’t really blame him for that.  The thought of having missed out on so much in Julia’s life made her heart ache, and here he was, just learning she even existed.  Clarke had avoided him as much as she could at work (and he seemed to be doing the same) but she had also emailed him just about every photo of Julia in existence, even the ones her mom took in the hospital where Clarke was sweaty and wan.  It was her peace offering; a way of trying to make up for what he’d lost.

 

Clarke opened her front door to find Bellamy standing there looking terrified, with flowers clutched in his left hand and a brightly wrapped present in his right.  “These, ah, these are for you,” he said, and thrust the daisies towards her.

 

“Oh.  Thanks,” she said awkwardly.

 

“Sorry, I just— there’s not really a handbook for this,” he said. Clarke stood back and gestured him in with the daisies.  “I brought her some books.  And a teddy bear, if that’s okay?” he added, holding up the present.

 

“She’ll love them both,” Clarke assured him.  “She’s in the living room.”

 

Just then, Julia’s tiny, stumbling footsteps echoed down the hall as she ran towards the voices, drawing up short when she saw Bellamy.  Her hair was messy from her morning nap and Clarke hadn’t yet changed her out of her pajamas (she’d meant to, but she also had to clean the house before Bellamy arrived and she’d been counting on a few extra minutes, although in retrospect she shouldn’t have been surprised he showed up exactly on time), but his face lit up at the sight of her.

 

Carefully, Bellamy knelt down so he was at her level.  “Hi, Julia,” he said, his voice catching a little.  Julia observed him for a moment and then a gummy smile spread across her face.  She toddled toward him and grabbed his nose.  Bellamy scrunched up his face (Clarke knew from experience Julia wasn’t exactly gentle when she did that) and smiled when she let go.  Julia smiled back, and Clarke’s heart threatened to burst.

 

She never thought her daughter would get a chance to know her father, and Clarke had always dreaded trying to explain that to her— but now, even though that was one weight lifted from her chest, a new one took it’s place.

 

For the past eleven months, Julia had been  _hers_.  Clarke had been so lost and so alone that having someone who loved her unreservedly-- even a helpless infant-- had been a much needed lifeline.  Julia was her salvation, and through Julia Clarke found her way back to her mother.  Julia, in short, rebuilt Clarke’s family.

 

And she never thought she would have to share her.

 

Clarke swallowed past the lump in her throat.  “Let’s go to the living room and Julia can open her presents, yeah?”  Bellamy agreed, and for the next two hours, Clarke watched her daughter play with her father.  Bellamy was great with her, completely unsurprised that she was more entranced by the wrapping paper than the presents themselves, and full of questions about Julia.  He wanted to know every possible detail, from what her first solid food was (rice cereal, then sweet potatoes) to when she started walking (three weeks ago, and it was already her preferred form of transportation unless she was tired).  “She’s not quite talking yet, but she’s close,” Clarke finished, while Bellamy laid on his back and lifted Julia into the air.  Julia giggled happily, and the smile on Bellamy’s face threatened to break Clarke’s heart.  “I’ve got some work to do in the office, if that’s okay?” she asked him.

 

Bellamy barely spared her a glance.  “Sure thing,” he said, and then puffed his cheeks out into a silly face that set Julia into another fit of giggles.

 

In the safety of her office, Clarke closed the door and let her tears fall.  It wasn’t just jealousy, or selfishness, or even the guilt of Julia’s father missing almost the entire first year of her life.  It was everything, all at once, and she still had no idea how she was going to navigate it.  Bellamy was in her life now, forever.  When she’d broken the news to Wells and Raven Wells had offered to draw up a custody agreement, but Clarke demurred.  She wanted to wait and see if they could work something out between themselves first before putting it in writing.  But now she knew that she would have to start splitting her time with her daughter, and while she couldn’t grudge Bellamy the time, it would hurt nonetheless.

 

Eventually, Bellamy knocked on her door softly.  She collected herself and called him in, and he opened the door with Julia propped on his hip, her head buried in his shoulder.  That hurt too, since before that gesture had been reserved for Clarke.  “I think she’s tired,” he said, and Clarke glanced at the clock, surprised to find that it was time for Julia’s nap.  “I’ll make her a bottle if you want to put her down?” Clarke asked, offering him one of her favorite times of day to try and assuage her guilt, fighting tooth and nail against the jealous monster in her chest.  Bellamy followed her to the kitchen, Julia still cuddled into his chest, and then up to her room.  “I sit in that chair and give her the bottle.  She likes to hold it herself now, and I keep the lights off and sing to her until she falls asleep,” Clarke instructed.

 

“Stories okay?  I’m not much of a singer,” Bellamy said, accepting the bottle.

 

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” Clarke said, but the moment he disappeared into Julia’s room Clarke sank down to the carpet and rested her back against the wall.   _You have to get over this_ , she berated herself, even as she listened to Bellamy whispering a story about a princess whose father loved her very much.   _Get it together_ . _This is good for Julia.  She deserves this.  He deserves this_.

 

She hadn’t managed to peel herself from the floor when Bellamy came out, closing the door behind him.  He sank down next to her and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.  “She’s great,” he said hoarsely.  “Wonderful, I mean, she’s—”

 

“She’s perfect,” Clarke finished.  “I know.”

 

He blew out a shaky breath.  “My sister wants me to sue for full custody.”

 

Clarke felt a jolt of panic in her belly, but forced herself to remain calm.  “Will you?”

 

“I thought about it.  I was pretty pissed at you, at first,” he admitted.  “But...I tried to find you too.  And I couldn’t, and so if you tried to find me—”

 

“I did.  I really, really did.”

 

Bellamy nodded.  “I figured.  I just...god, I missed so much of her life already.  I can’t miss more.”

 

“I won’t keep her from you,” Clarke promised.  “We can get lawyers to draw something up so you’re sure, but I promise, you can see her as often as you want.”

 

“I’m living with my sister right now while I look for a place and I was thinking of trying to find something over on this end of town.”

 

“There’s an apartment building a few blocks away,” Clarke said.  “You could look there.”

 

Bellamy nodded again, and they both fell silent for a long time.  “I still can’t believe I have a daughter,” Bellamy whispered.  “And she looks like me.”

 

“She does,” Clarke replied.  “I want you in her life, you know.  I always have, and I know it doesn’t seem like that today, but it’s—”

 

“--it’s a lot to work through,” Bellamy finished.  “I get that.”

 

“Her birthday is next month.  I was going to have a party here, if you want to come.”

 

“Can I bring my sister and her family?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Bellamy took a deep breath and looked over at her.  “So I guess we’re co-parents now.”

 

“I guess we are.”

 


	3. Three

“So you’re Tall, Dark, and Condomless,” Raven observed, setting down the cake.

 

“The condom broke,” Clarke and Bellamy said simultaneously.  “And his name is Bellamy,” Clarke added.

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Wells said politely.  Bellamy nodded politely back.

 

Raven rolled her eyes and grabbed a handful of chips that Clarke was pouring into a bowl.  “So how’s it going?  Being a dad, and all.”  Right on cue, Julia let go of Wells’ leg and toddled over to Bellamy, who scooped her up with practiced ease.  “Well played, kiddo,” Raven snorted.  She leaned over to kiss Julia’s cheek, and then looked back at Clarke.  “You’re right— no need for a paternity test with this one,” she said, and Bellamy looked almost smug.

 

Bellamy had been over nearly every evening since that first day with Julia, and Clarke had grown used to his presence.  It was nice to have someone else handle bath time, even if her heart lurched uncomfortably when Julia fussed and reached for Bellamy instead of her.  He’d just signed his lease at the apartment down the road, and Wells was working with Bellamy’s lawyer to draw up a custody agreement.  She had started to feel grateful for him more often than jealous, and some days, it didn’t even feel odd to be co-parenting with a stranger-turned-coworker.

 

Bellamy accepted the bowl from Clarke and hitched Julia a little higher on his hip.  “Octavia is on her way,” he told her.  “Coffee table?”

 

“Dining room table, please,” Clarke said, and Bellamy headed out towards the living room.  Once he was safely gone, she rounded on Raven.  “Be nice,” she admonished.

 

“I’m nice,” Raven protested, but their conversation was cut short by the doorbell.  “Is that the sister?”

 

“The sister, the brother-in-law, the niece, and the nephew,” Clarke said, wiping her hands.  “Time to go face the music.”

 

All things considered, meeting Bellamy’s family could have gone worse.  Octavia was a little stiff, but Lincoln was kind and their kids were rambunctious, and that helped ease over any awkwardness.  Her mother accepted the newcomers with grace even if she leaned a little too hard on formalities, and by the time the presents were opened and Julia was face first in her cake, Clarke actually felt like they could make a go of it as a family.  A slightly awkward, partially dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.

 

And when she and Bellamy crouched behind Julia’s high chair while her mother and Octavia took a photo, they really did feel like one.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was supposed to be kissing in this one, but it didn't fit. Guess there will have to be a part four, huh?


	4. Four

Happy squeals sounded from the bathroom, and the soft gurgle of the tub starting to drain rumbled below them.  “Almost done in there?” she called, balancing the laundry basket on her hip.

 

“Completely done,” Bellamy said.  He emerged with Julia wrapped in her favorite penguin towel.  Her hair was plastered to her forehead but already those untamable curls were starting to spring back into existence, and Clarke smoothed her wet hair back.

 

“Bedtime, Jules,” Clarke told her.  “Your daddy is going to read you a story and then I’ll be in.”  She kissed Julia’s forehead and shot Bellamy a grateful smile.  In the past six months she’d come to rely on him, and she had to admit she was thankful that he was willing to handle bathtime.  Julia adored the water, and spent most of her time splashing around happily, which was cute as all-get-out the first time, but less so the hundredth.  It was handy to have him at work too (once all the gossip about their relationship had died down) to conference about picking her up from day care.  For the first time since Julia arrived, Clarke had  _ free time _ .

 

Bellamy had just finished reading when Clarke crept into her room.  Julia’s eyes were heavy and Bellamy handed her over, her sleepy limbs heavy and flopping in Clarke’s arms.   She swayed back and forth as Julia nuzzled into her neck.  “Good night, Julia,” she whispered, waiting for Bellamy to kiss Julia’s forehead, and set her down in her crib.

 

Bellamy followed her back out into the hall.  They had gotten into a good routine in the past few months: dinner together, then Bellamy would handle bathtime, and then they would trade off bedtime before Bellamy would leave for the night.  But lately, watching him leave seemed...wrong.  Harder, somehow.

 

“I’ll get my things,” he said, keeping his voice quiet.

 

On impulse, Clarke reached out and took his hand.  “Or...you could stay,” she said softly.

 

Bellamy dropped his gaze to their hands and wove his fingers with hers.  “I could.”  He pulled her closer, and his other hand came to rest on the curve of her hip.  “This could get tricky though.  With work, and—”

 

“--and our daughter?”

 

He smiled ruefully.  “And her.”  

 

“It probably can’t get any trickier than it already is,” Clarke said, her eyes on his full, parted lips.  Then she rolled onto her toes and kissed him, her hand cupping the back of his neck.  It took Bellamy a heartbeat to respond, but when he did there was no hesitation, only want.

 

It was just like she remembered, only better.  The first time, it was pure lust— animal and raw and perfect— but now it was lust mixed with something deeper.  She knew him and he knew her, and she knew just how much she trusted him and that took her hunger for him and multiplied it.  He seemed to feel the same, and by the time they were spent Clarke knew, deep in her bones, that this was right in a way nothing had ever been right for her before.

 

And the next morning, Bellamy was there to get Julia out of her crib.

 


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit more fluff, because why not? (And because an anon asked for bellarke + grocery shopping).

“Julia, bottom on the cart,” Clarke warned. 

Bellamy gave Julia a stern look that echoed Clarke’s, and Julia slid her legs back through the opening with a slightly chastened expression. He checked the list and nodded to the top shelf. “Raisins,” he reminded Clarke, and she reached up and grabbed the box.

They maneuvered around a elderly woman standing in the center of the aisle and Julia started singing the clean up song she’d learned at daycare to herself. Clarke rubbed her lower back and winced. “Did we need cereal?” she asked.

“Yeah, looks like it. He bothering you?”

“A lot of kicks today, is all. He’s moving a lot earlier than she did, or maybe I’m just feeling it more this time.” Julia looked up, concerned. They’d been working on not hitting and kicking other kids at daycare, so the word must have caught her attention. “He’s not actually kicking me. There just isn’t a lot of space in my tummy right now, so when he’s moves it sometimes feels funny,” Clarke explained.

Bellamy stopped the cart and poked Julia’s cheek. “Want to feel your brother?” he asked. Her eyes got big and she nodded, although Clarke wasn’t entirely sure Julia either fully understood or was fully on board with the idea of a baby brother, she moved closer to the cart. Clarke pointed to the spot where he kept kicking, and Bellamy placed Julia’s hand there. He covered Julia’s tiny, chubby hand with his, and right on cue, Jacob kicked them both.

Julia squealed and Bellamy grinned, and Clarke didn’t give a shit that four different people gave them the stink eye for blocking the cereal aisle.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> craniumhurricane requested the first time Julia calls Bellamy Dad. Set between chapters three and four.

Clarke climbed the stairs with a basket of laundry on her hip.  Bellamy was putting Julia down for her nap, which gave her the chance to catch up on some chores.  In the past few months Bellamy had become sort of a fixture in their lives, over every night and every saturday to spend time with his daughter.  She’d let go of a little bit of her resentment when Julia would reach for him the way she used to just reach for Clarke.  It still hurt a little, but it meant Julia had a father— something she never thought she’d have— so Clarke did her best to swallow her hurt and embrace him just like Julia.

Clarke sat down on her couch and started folding, marveling at how much laundry one tiny human could create.  But between Julia’s insistence on feeding herself, her lack of awareness as to where exactly her mouth is located, and her preternatural ability to find mud while outside, Clarke was spending half her time these days washing her clothes so daycare didn’t report her for being a negligent parent.

Bellamy came down the stairs with an odd, dazed look on his face.  He sat down next to her and stared at the floor, unseeing.  “Everything okay?” she asked and set down a pair of purple pants with pink strawberries on them.

“I think–I think she called me _dada,_ ” Bellamy said, scrubbing his hand across his face.  “At least, it sounded like that.”

Clarke remembered the first time Julia called her _mama._   It was a dreary Tuesday morning and Clarke was running late, as usual.  Julia was fussing in her high chair, and then reached out and very clearly said two syllables that stopped Clarke’s heart.  “She’s been talking a lot more,” Clarke said gently.  “She probably did.”  Clarke had been pointing to Bellamy and saying “dada” for the past month, ever since Julia started trying out words in earnest.  But while Mama had stuck, Dada was still out of her reach.

Or was, until today.  “She just— I put her down to grab a book, and she looked up and just…said it.”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“So much has changed,” Bellamy said, almost to himself.  “I never— god, I didn’t even know about her until a few months ago.  And now— she called me dad.  Or almost did,” he said, his voice hoarse.

Clarke laid a comforting hand on his arm and he looked over, his eyes glistening.  It made her heart lurch, because he was still so new in her life but had come to mean so much. She settled for pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek.  “Makes it feel real, doesn’t it?” she said.

Bellamy laid his hand on hers, trapping it against his forearm.  “It does,” he replied.  “It really, really does.”

 


End file.
